International

03-08-2022 MAKKAH: The Saudi government has removed the protective barriers around the Holy Kaaba as it eases restrictions imposed due to coronavirus. The Saudi Gazette reported that directions to lift the barriers were given by Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, the head of the general presidency for the affairs of the …

02-08-2022 BEIJING/ WASHINGTON: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that those US politicians who “play with fire” on the Taiwan issue will “come to no good end”, according to a ministry statement. China has been in communication with the United States over US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy …

02-08-2022 By SAJ Jafri + Bureau Report KARACHI/ LASBELA/ ISLAMABAD: A top Pakistani army general and five senior military officials were martyred when their helicopter crashed while on a flood relief operation in troubled Balochistan province, the army said on Tuesday. The six individuals on board included the Commander XII …

02-08-2022 WASHINGTON/ KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: President Joe Biden announced Monday that the United States had killed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of the world’s most wanted terrorists and suspected mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks. In a televised address, Biden said the strike in Kabul, Afghanistan had been carried out …

01-08-2022 JERUSALEM/ TEHRAN: The secretary general of Hezbollah resistance movement did not rule out going to war with Israel over the regime’s attempts at impinging on Lebanon’s natural resources. Seyed Hassan Nasrallah made the remarks on Sunday amid a maritime dispute that escalated in early July, after the Israeli regime …

01-08-2022 COLOMBO: The mainly youth-led protest movement in crisis-hit Sri Lanka is divided on whether to withdraw from a sea-facing camp they set up months ago near the presidential secretariat in capital Colombo. The GotaGoGama camp, also called Galle Face Green, is the epicentre of the protests in Sri Lanka …

01-08-2022 Bureau Report DUBAI/ ISLAMABAD: Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum surprised a Pakistani expat Abdul Ghafoor Abdul Hakeem by giving him a call, reported Khaleej Times. Ghafoor, who is a delivery rider, impressed Sheikh Hamdan with his act of kindness that was posted by …

01-08-2022 WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s borders fully re-opened to visitors from around the world on Monday, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic closed them in March 2020. New Zealand’s borders started reopening in February first for New Zealanders and restrictions have progressively eased. The process of reopening the borders …

01-08-2022 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ KOCHI: India confirmed its first monkeypox death on Monday, a young man in the southern state of Kerala, in what is only the fourth known fatality from the disease in the current outbreak. Last week, Spain reported two monkeypox-related deaths and Brazil it’s first. The …

31-07-2022 BAGHDAD: Supporters of powerful Iraqi leader Muqtada al-Sadr who have occupied the country’s parliament say they have no plans to leave, deepening a months-long political standoff. On Saturday, supporters of the firebrand al-Sadr forced their way into the legislative chamber for the second time in days, after October elections …